Beaufort, the controversial art triennial along the Belgian coast, can currently be visited. From Knokke to De Panne you can see various large-scale statues along the coastline.
This time Beaufort’s art makes you think. These are not just beautiful images, but they have to do with the climate and the question of how we deal with the sea.
A good example of this is the work ‘Beach Castle’ by the French artist Jean-François Fourtou. When you drive into Knokke, it is the first work of art you see. It looks like a huge pile of white blocks, but if you look closer, you will recognize the well-known beach houses. They are exact copies of the houses that are on the beach from Knokke to De Panne. Fourtou’s image consists of nine of these copies, which appear to have landed on top of each other at random, haphazardly. It gives the impression of chaos, as if the houses were left this way by a hurricane. The image has thus become a vision of the future, which contains a warning: are these the consequences that we will have to deal with in time due to global warming?
Another example is the artwork on the coast of De Panne by Jos de Gruyter and Harald Thys. This is the last image on the Beaufort route. ‘The three wiseguys’ are three extremely high columns with life-size portraits on them. The columns are no less than fifteen meters high and look out over the sea into the distance. An impressive image with an equally impressive idea behind it: the three heads look into our uncertain future from a great height.
The message that Beaufort 2018 conveys is clear: think about the future and climate change. The art route along the Belgian coast shows in this way that art cannot only be experienced aesthetically, or not aesthetically, but its influence extends much further. Boronski also not only intends to give the viewer an aesthetic experience with his art, but he also wants to encourage thought with his art. Not specifically about climate change, but about the responsibility you have as an individual. Don’t leave the thinking to others and don’t accept anything blindly, but take your own responsibility and always try to look with an unbiased view.
Beaufort makes us think about the future and the climate. With his art, Boronski wants to encourage us to think for ourselves and always form our own vision. By looking at his art he hopes to surprise and amaze the viewer. In this way, Boronski encourages not to be afraid of the things that are unknown, but rather to embrace every form of diversity. Art can make you think. Perhaps in a way that nothing else can.
